


staff of creation / staff of destruction

by BlueFaeWren



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Lamp of Knowledge, Relic (RWBY), Relics (RWBY), Volume 8 (RWBY), staff of creation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28111890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueFaeWren/pseuds/BlueFaeWren
Summary: “Tell me about the staff.”“Unlike the lamp of knowledge, who must be summoned, and whose punishment is hidden in the answers you do not want to hear, the staff can be used by anyone. Only, to access it, you must relive the worst destruction of your life.”
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	staff of creation / staff of destruction

“Tell me about the staff.”

“Unlike the lamp of knowledge, who must be summoned, and whose punishment is hidden in the answers you do not want to hear, the staff can be used by anyone. Only, to access it, you must relive the worst destruction of your life.”

*

_Get to the staff._

Simple as that. Ruby gets the staff out of there while the rest of the team holds back Cinder and any Grimm. She doesn’t like running. But that’s the mission: get to the staff. She’s the fastest. She knows that. Rose petals drift in her wake.

She reaches careful fingers forwards.

*

“Don’t ever be fooled by other’s deflections and refusals to address their past and fears. While the mirages of people who are alive may be fake, those who are dead are very, _very_ real.”

*

Her finger touches the carved jewel. 

And just like when Jin told her story out in the snow, the room erupts into white. Fights that were happening only seconds ago are divided apart, each person left on their own expanse, alone.

Ruby turns, slowly, to the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Hello, there.”

*

“Yang!” Blake screams, but is powerless to watch her partner stare into the distance, red eyes wide. She has two arms. She has two arms _she has two arms-_

“YANG!”

Blake tries to run towards her, heeled boots clicking on the impossibly unending white floor. But she never gets closer, her dying breath the only indicator of her progress.

A thin line of red starts to drip across Yang’s arm.

“ _Yang._ ”

*

“Please, wake up. _Wake up._ ”

Nora’s eyes stay closed. She doesn’t even look bothered, a soft breath escaping her mouth, her head tilting slightly to the side. Ren cups both her cheeks, pressing their foreheads together.

“I’m sorry _I’m sorry_ please please _please wake UP._ ”

He traces over one of her orange scars, still raw and raised. He lets out a sob, shaking.

“I shouldn’t have left you. _I’m sorry. Please,_ Nora, you’re all I have left. I’m just an orphan from the middle of nowhere _we’re just orphans from the middle of nowhere_.”

Nora’s head lolls backwards.

“ _Please._ ”

*

“You seem surprised to see me.”

“What is this place?”

“The staff is forcing you to relive what destruction you regret the most. For some people, that’s a death. For others, it’s an injury, or even the end of a relationship. Everyone around you sees something different, unless two people see each other.”

She spreads her arms out, expelling the white fog. The chamber is visible again – each person, slumped on the floor, separate. Ren, cradling an invisible body, Blake reaching out to a captivated Yang. Everyone is crying, everyone seems broken in their own way. Everyone seems to have forgotten about the staff completely. She raises her arms again, recreating the white prison.

Ruby is almost glad.

“Normally people have something to say.”

Ruby rushes forwards, collapsing into Pyrrha’s arms. “ _I’m sorry._ ”

Pyrrha laughs, holding Ruby tight. She cradles Ruby as she shakes.

“I forgot,” Ruby admits. “Jaune never forgot but I forgot and I am _sorry._ ”

Pyrrha leans back, pushing a lock of Ruby’s hair out of her face.

“When we were travelling, walking all that time, I just focused on what we were doing. I just focused on Jaune and Ren and Nora and putting one foot in front of the other and stopped thinking about anything else. About Yang, about Blake, about Weiss, about _you_. I just couldn’t break down. I had to _lead._ ”

“We’re all much too young to carry that burden.”

Ruby sighs. “And then it was just one thing after another – Salem, Jin, Maria, the train. Atlas, _Ironwood_. It just didn’t end. And here you are.”

Pyrrha smiles, tilting her head slightly to the side. “Here I am.”

“Is it… bad that I’ve already moved on?”

Pyrrha frowns. “I wouldn’t say so. Sometimes the staff’s punishments don’t suit the person themselves. You don’t have time to dwell on your problems, you’re already ready to move on. To keep going. That determination, that drive, will get you far.”

Pyrrha gestures again, opening up a small path. Weiss is sitting on the other side, knees up to her chest, staring at the distance. She looks sad. Alone. Ruby turns towards her.

“Don’t let you wear yourself into the ground.”

Ruby glances back and smiles at Pyrrha. “I miss you. I’ll… when this is over, I’ll find time. Jaune says you have a statue in Argus, said he can feel you there. I’ll visit. I’ll see you then.”

Pyrrha nods once, bringing a hand to her heart. Ruby does the same in response. “And I you.”

*

“There wasn’t anything for them to say to me,” Weiss murmurs, eyes fixed far away.

Ruby slowly sits next to her, reaching out to rub her back.

“Some _voice_ explained how the staff worked, explained how it made you relive your worst destruction. But somehow, they couldn’t find one for me.” She turns to Ruby, a tiny tear tracing down her face. “It’s like my life has been falling apart for so long that they couldn’t pinpoint one time. They just left me here in my own destruction.”

Ruby leans forward and wraps her in a hug.

Weiss cries.

*

Yang doesn’t know what’s happening. On one side, Adam creeps up on her, Blake behind them, desperate for protection, desperate to somehow save them both.

She has two arms.

On the other, her mother stands, watching her, mouth frozen halfway through a sentence. Yang can almost hear what she’s saying.

_You don’t want to do this, Yang… Nope. But I’m gonna do it anyway… I’m sorry… Yeah. Me too._

Time is both moving and frozen, as her mother’s eyes flick back and forth ever so slightly and Adam’s blade moves millimeters closer to her arm. Yang closes her eyes. Takes in a deep breath.

_Who do I pick – myself, my arm, months of life lost to fear and exhaustion and depression? My mother and I’s relationship, taught after years of abandonment, full of anger and manipulation and fear? Or, my partner. Who is here. Who was here. Who_ will be _here._

When Yang hits the ground, Blake safe in her arms, they’re both back to the present. And Yang has one arm again.

Blake reaches up, pulling Yang closer to her.

“I’ve got you,” Blake whispers.

“And I’ve got you,” Yang says.

*

The moment the world turns to white, Cinder’s fire eyes go out, and she’s twelve once again. She feels smaller. Shorter. More vulnerable. When she tries to access her maiden powers, nothing happens.

A soft hand pats the top of her head.

Cinder closes her eyes.

*

Qrow is just frozen in place. He can’t move. His eyes are wide and his mouth is open and the pin is cold against his chest and he can’t move.

Clover just watches him. He smiles ever so slightly.

“Are you real?”

Clover doesn’t seem surprised by the question. It’s probably in character, honestly, rooted in paranoia. Rooted in desperation.

“I think so.”

Qrow’s hands shake as he slowly unclasps his necklace, holding it out to Clover. The green pin sways back and forth slowly, catching against some invisible light source.

“I have your pin. Do you want it back?”

“ _Qrow._ ”

Qrow drops the pin, takes a step towards Clover, and collapses into his arms. They both sink to their knees at the same time, too tired and full of emotion to hold themselves up. Qrow cries, desperate, and Clover rubs his back and holds him steady.

Qrow pushes Clover back so he can see his face. “The fight, Tyrian, I’m _so-_ ”

“I don’t want to hear about the fight. We don’t have much time. I’m here for _you_.”

“Time?”

“The staff’s powers are only going to last for so long. Eventually, someone will break out of the stupor and pick it up. When that happens, we’ll all disappear. Your team is strong; you’ve done them well. I don’t think that they’ll take much longer.”

Qrow nods slowly, resting his forehead on Clover’s shoulder. He closes his eyes.

“I shouldn’t have picked loyalty over you. You were one of the first good things I had in a long time, and I should have seen that and taken it and ran with it. Instead I thought about duty, and I thought about others.”

Clover laughs, tucking a strand of Qrow’s messy hair behind his ear. “I should’ve been selfish.”

“I was selfish,” Qrow says, tilting his head into Clover’s touch. “I played cards with you when I should’ve been helping Ruby and flirted when we were supposed to be serious. But I don’t regret it. Not at all.”

Clover leans in to kiss Qrow’s cheek. By the time his lips make contact, the room has faded back into view.

He’s gone.

*

Ruby has the staff in one hand, her eyes glowing silver to match its own brightness. It’s grown to rest just taller than her head, like a scepter a monarch would carry. To her left, Weiss, their hands intertwined. To her right, Blake and Yang, leaning on each other.

She raises the staff and points.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope that all four relics don't have to be summoned like Jin was, because I think they could explore some really cool concepts of protection. This was my idea for the staff.
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> Find me on Tumblr @bluefaewren or @blueartwren.


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